Meals on Wheels Hampered by Coronavirus Outbreak

Meals on Wheels America is a trade association that represents about 1,000 of the country's senior-nutrition providers.

More federal funding is on the table

The programs rely on government funds and private dollars, and this week there's a bid in the Senate to give them another $250 million as part of a coronavirus relief measure. The House already has approved the funding.

Senior-nutrition funding, through another measure called the Older Americans Act, is more than $738 million in the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30; $485 million goes to the congregate meal programs and $253 million to home-delivered nutrition services.

"We are not only fighting coronavirus, but with this donation, we are building our efforts to fight the fear, anxiety and social isolation that the pandemic has brought on.” 

— AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins

On Monday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar asking that states, coping with the closures of senior congregate meal sites, be given greater flexibility to use public dollars for home-delivered services. He agreed, an aide to Collins says.

"In the face of this public health challenge ... Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) across the country are struggling to continue to run programs that meet the nutritional needs of older Americans,” Collins, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Aging, wrote in her letter.

At Meals on Wheels America, spokeswoman Jenny Young says particular attention is focused on states such as California, where adults 65-plus have been urged to self-isolate.

Volunteers are older, too

Complicating the scenario is the lack of volunteers, since nearly three-quarters of Meals on Wheels volunteers are at least 55 years old, Young says. “We're seeing our volunteer base dwindle because ... it's not safe for them to be out and about, either,” she adds.

"In these difficult times of navigating this pandemic, it is important that we come together as a society to help the most vulnerable members of our communities.” 

Robert D. Manfred Jr., the commissioner of Major League Baseball

Grab-and-go meals are one solution as congregate dining centers close, according to Young, the group's vice president of communications.

But it is not a one-size-fits-all remedy, notes the spokeswoman, who says, “Every program is adapting differently, and they're adapting every day."

Meals on Wheels America has set up a COVID-19 Response Fund to collect donations for local programs. Meantime, the national group, based in Arlington, Virginia, urges everybody to take four steps to help keep older adults safe:

• Follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and take precautions around high-risk individuals.
• Reach out to your local Meals on Wheels provider to find out their specific needs.
• Call, email or text your at-risk loved ones to check in with them.
• Contact your elected officials to make sure older adults are not forgotten.

In places such as Florida's Volusia County, people often retire while in good health and leave behind places they lived for years — and sometimes are away from close relatives, according to Young-Carrasquillo. For an older American, all it takes is a fall, a financial problem, an illness or injury or the death of a spouse, and “we start seeing a downward spiral,” she observes.

Its Council on Aging strives to help people live independently in their homes, she says. “We're just trying to keep up with their basic needs: food and proper medical care. We want to make sure those who need feeding continue to get fed."